<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> Posted July. 02/2004 Kapono has a good shot to make impact Former UCLA star's jump shot stands out RICK BONNELL Staff Writer FORT MILL - The first four minutes of Jason Kapono's first scrimmage with the Charlotte Bobcats demonstrated his value. ? A little backdoor cut, a quick ball fake and swish along the baseline from 17 feet. ? In transition, the ball pops out to Kapono 18 feet from the basket ... swish. ? Kapono grabs a long offensive rebound, dribbles into the lane and swish, a running bank shot finds its mark. Kapono's six points -- the only six points scored by either side in that span -- showed what this guy can do. He's a dependable jump shot on an expansion team that will struggle to average 90 points a game next season. That's why it pained Cleveland coach Paul Silas to lose Kapono, and why the Bobcats were so happy to take him in the expansion draft. Although he was the Cavaliers' only reliable jump shooter, Kapono wasn't particularly surprised he was left unprotected. "You go to bed a Cavalier and wake up a Bobcat. It's part of the business," Kapono said. "Whether they wanted to lose me or not, I was glad Charlotte truly wanted me and drafted me, and hopefully I'll get a chance to play here." Though he was UCLA's third all-time leading scorer (2,095 points), he lasted until the second round in 2003, when Cleveland drafted him. He lasted that long probably because he's not the most athletic or versatile player. But he has built a nice niche with his jump shot -- sort of a new-generation Dell Curry. "That's an art -- a skill that's not very prominent in these times," Kapono said. "In the (television) highlights, all people want to talk about is the fancy plays. Kids nowadays tend to go away from the skill of shooting. Hopefully I can bring that to the Bobcats and we can break 90." Under NBA rules, Thursday was the first day that Kapono, a veteran under contract, could practice in summer camp. Notes ? The other promising jump shooter chosen in the expansion draft, Richie Frahm, hadn't shown up in Charlotte as of Thursday morning. Frahm became an unrestricted free agent when the Bobcats selected him off Seattle's roster. Coach/general manager Bernie Bickerstaff assumed Frahm would be here, looking to earn a contract. Bickerstaff said he would still be interested in signing Frahm, but that others playing here were getting the attention that Frahm would have received. ? First-round pick Emeka Okafor likes the atmosphere in practice. He said the competition for roster spots among free agents hadn't hurt camaraderie. "It's not as cutthroat as you'd think." ? Bickerstaff said he was impressed with guard Corey Benjamin and forward Kaniel Dickens, two players on the fringes of the NBA recently. ? Second-round pick Bernard Robinson's greatest strength might be versatility as a 6-foot-6 swingman. </div> Link I posted the whole thing because its for subscribed member only. I think Kapono will be great on this team and will reach his full potential. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Kapono's 1st practice an impressive one By David Cloninger The Herald (Published July 2? 2004) FORT MILL -- Talk about making a good first impression. Forced to sit out the first two days of Bobcats training camp due to NBA regulations, Jason Kapono showed up Thursday and reminded everybody why he was taken from Cleveland in the expansion draft. The 6-foot-8 swingman scored the first six points for his team during a scrimmage and showed off the jumper that placed him third on UCLA's all-time scoring list. "That's an art, that's a skill that's not very prominent during these times," said Kapono of his jump shot. "Everyone talks about all the fancy plays; kids nowadays tend to go away from the skill of shooting, from the fundamentals of the game. So hopefully I can bring that to the Bobcats." He got off to a good start -- Kapono took the first pass during the team's scrimmage and nailed a 15-footer from the right side of the key. He did it again on the next possession and then threaded through an Emeka Okafor-led defense for an underhanded scoop lay-in. </div> Link Jason Kapono and Emeka Okafor and Gerald Wallace are the core group we got to work with, I think we will get further than a 9 win season.
Oh yeah. Emeka, Wallace, and Kapono are definitely the core of the group. We've all seen what Okafor can do on the college level, let's see what he can do on the NBA level, witht he pro's. Wallace didn't see enough playing time to actually show how good he is, but he showed some nice stuff at a dunk contest one year and I'm very excited about seeing him playing. And Kapono. I remember one game specifically when he was ont he Cavs and we were versing the Hornets, he came up big for us and we were down by as much as 24 I think? And Kapono went and drained some big shots. So all 3 are capable of doing great things. Let's hope they can do that soon.
I think Kapono will do good here. He's very likely a starter I think. He's a very good jump shooter and has potential to be a very good perimeter player in the league. The other guy I think who will be a good part of this organization will be Lonny Baxter. No one has really said anything about him in here up to this point. But, he was a great player while at Maryland and was the first player picked by them in the expansion draft. I think he could become a very good player for this team given the minutes. Too bad he'll have Okafor to battle with to get that starting power forward spot, so, it's extremely likely he'll be coming off the bench unless they do something they said they wouldn't do and put Okafor at center. But, than if you put Baxter at PF, that gives them an unbelievably small line up since he only stands about 6'8". But, nonetheless, I still think he will be a good player and provide some type of an impact this coming season.
I thought Lonny Baxter was a un-restricted free agent this summer? Plus as you said he would get destroyed at PF with his size, but I have seen him play with the Raptors this season he is a very physical player.
Lonny Baxter didnt make the cut he isnt on the Summer League team that's why I havent mentioned anything about him in this forum yet. If he was for sure on the Bobcats then there would be much talk of him but he isnt for sure because he isnt on the SML team; and neither is Emeka but we all know Emeka is forsure on the team.
